Soy sauce is a traditional Chinese condiment which is used almost every day by Chinese people. Before supermarkets appeared in China, Chinese people brought their empty soy sauce bottles to shops in order to refill them. We call this traditional activity 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu), or, "buying soy sauce.” Currently in China, this old expression has taken on a new meaning. Here’s the story of how the new definition came into being.

A TV station was conducting a street interview, asking ordinary people their opinions on celebrity scandals. In one particularly memorable interview, the interviewee said calmly to a journalist about a recent scandal, “It’s none of my business. I just went out for some soy sauce.” This video was uploaded to the internet and ever since, 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu) has been the popular way netizens say that something is none of one’s business.

Example:

Nǐ yě cānjiā hànyǔ bǐsài ma?
A：你 也 参加 汉语 比赛 吗？

Are you taking part in the Chinese contest, too?

Wǒ shì lái dǎ jiàngyóu de.
B：我 是 来 打 酱油 的。

I'm just doing it for fun.

In the above conversation, person B is actually taking part in the contest; however, he uses the self-deprecating comment of “打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu).” In this situation, the phrase means that he is taking part in the contest for fun only.

You will also hear people say 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu) in other situations. For example, look at the following conversation:

Nǐ jiéhūn le ma？
Jane：你 结婚 了 吗？

Are you married?

Wǒ háizi dōu huì dǎ jiàngyóu le.
Lily：我 孩子 都 会 打 酱油 了。

My kids can help me buy soy sauce.

Jane is asking Lily whether she is married or not, but Lily responds with a new usage of our phrase. The logic here is that if a kid can help his mother buy soy sauce, then he’s obviously not a young child. Lily is actually saying that she not only is married, but that she has been married for quite a long time.